Well after about 4 years of wanting another baby, we are finally having one!! Brendon and I are so excited and Brenna couldn't be happier to finally become a big sister. She has been wanting a sibling for years now and I just know that she is going to make a GREAT big sister. She has definitely had 'baby' on the brain since we found out.
I had my first appointment last Thursday and the doctor estimated that I am about 6 weeks along and that my due date is December 23rd. I am going back to the doctor this Thursday (4/29) for my first ultrasound to make sure that everything is how it should be. I am a bit nervous about things going well but I have been trying not to dwell on it. I was told by one person that they couldn't believe we were already telling people because it's still so early but what I told them was that we've been wanting this baby for so long (and everyone knows that!) that we just can't NOT tell people. Yes, it is still early but I am hoping for and expecting the best.
We have a lot of planning ahead of us to get ready for another little person in our house. As of now we have a 2 bedroom house because the wall in Brenna's room was taken down before we bought it to make one big room. So we may either have to put the wall back up to make it two rooms again or we are contemplating on closing in our carport for a play room and then Brenna and the baby can share a bedroom for a while. I guess money will be the biggest factor in that.
So far I have been feeling wonderful! I am hoping that will continue because I was pretty sick when I was pregnant with Brenna. Just been a bit tired toward the middle of the day and I have been taking little naps. My belly is a bit bloated but I have not gained any weight at all. I've been eating so healthy this past week and drinking so much water that I have actually lost about 2 pounds. I am determined not to gain as much weight as I did with Brenna. I gained 60 pounds and was a very miserable pregnant person towards the end. And my weight gain caused a lot of problems too so I want to avoid that this time. I'm just very glad that I lost a lot of weight and changed my eating habits BEFORE I got pregnant - I think that will make a huge difference.
Well Brenna has her best friend over today and right now they are playing on the trampoline with the sprinkler under it, having a blast! This week is TAKS testing at the public schools and I am feeling very grateful that my daughter does not have to go thru that! LOL Seeing her jumping and playing outside while most other kids are sitting in a classroom all day taking a stupid government test makes my heart swell. :)
Ok, off to lay down and rest my baby-making body!! I will be posting more after my appointment on Thursday.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Doing Great
I felt that I had to write another post today - second one in a day. Impressive! I haven't written much lately about how we are doing. Of course, we've been pretty busy, hence the not writing! Brenna's birthday was last week and she turned 8 years old. Very hard to believe. I took out her baby scrapbook I made and went down memory lane a bit. Seems like just yesterday that she was a tiny little baby, but then again it seems so long ago too. Funny how things like that happen.
Brendon and I and my parents bought her a trampoline for her birthday and she was so excited about that! She's been wanting one for a long time and finally her birthday wish this year came true. I love that she has yet another thing to do outside, in the sunshine. I absolutely love the sweaty, red faced kid that she becomes after a long time spent outdoors. One of my favorite things to see. :)
It's hard to believe that I've been a stay-at-home mom now for 8 years. I would not change it for the world though. I remember when I found out I was pregnant and Brendon and I were both working at a call center for MSN. I had no intentions of becoming a Mom who stayed home. In fact, I had day care all lined up at a nice Christian school that my aunt worked at. I had planned on taking my 6 weeks (or whatever it was) of maternity leave and sending her off to day care and going back to work.
HA!
Little did I know how much a baby can change you! As soon as she was born and I laid eyes on that sweet little baby all of my plans flew out the window! No way I was going to let a stranger take care of my little baby - that was Momma's job!
It wasn't easy at all. With only a one income household (and it wasn't a lot of income!) we struggled majorly. For a while we did without all the luxuries that most people find a necessity today. No Internet, no cable, no going out to eat, Ramen Noodles and hot dogs for dinner quite often...... We did what we had to do though and if I had to do it again there would be no doubt in my mind that we would. It was completely worth it.
And I'm STILL having such a wonderful time with Brenna 8 years later! I could not even imagine not being with her as much as I am. Homeschooling has become such a lifestyle for us. No homework, no very early mornings, no rushing around at night to get in bed early, no planning our lives around school. It is so, so wonderful to be able to pick up and go do something on a Tuesday! What a fantastic life we have!!
And Brenna is doing great. We are still not doing any kind of curriculum what so ever and it is working better than I could ever imagine. I do get caught up sometimes in worrying about what other kids her age are doing but then something happens that completely eases my mind.
For example, last week in Girl Scout the girls were making friendship scrapbooks. They had blank little books that they were supposed to draw pictures of friends or write something about them. During stuff like that I can't help but pay close attention to what the other girls are doing.
One thing I really noticed was the way the other girls were asking the troop leader about things they could draw and write in their books. It was like they were almost asking permission to do certain things or that they really couldn't come up with their own ideas so they were asking the "teacher" for ideas. This really reminded me of a poem I posted on my blog quite sometime ago. Brenna, on the other hand, just went with it! She heard 'scrapbook' and 'friends' and I could tell that she had a million ideas just going through that brain of hers and she did her own thing.
Another thing that shocked me somewhat was the way that Brenna was helping her peers with spelling! It was UNBELIEVABLE that my kid, who really has had no type of "schooling" at all, was coaching some of these other girls !!! I was floored and I have to admit, it made me feel pretty darn good and really justified what we have been doing.
I wonder how many times something like that is going to have to happen before I figure out that what we are doing WORKS?! I guess as a parent though you'll always wonder if what you are doing is right.
I am extremely proud of what our daughter is becoming and I am honored to be able to witness it and experience it all first hand.
Brendon and I and my parents bought her a trampoline for her birthday and she was so excited about that! She's been wanting one for a long time and finally her birthday wish this year came true. I love that she has yet another thing to do outside, in the sunshine. I absolutely love the sweaty, red faced kid that she becomes after a long time spent outdoors. One of my favorite things to see. :)
It's hard to believe that I've been a stay-at-home mom now for 8 years. I would not change it for the world though. I remember when I found out I was pregnant and Brendon and I were both working at a call center for MSN. I had no intentions of becoming a Mom who stayed home. In fact, I had day care all lined up at a nice Christian school that my aunt worked at. I had planned on taking my 6 weeks (or whatever it was) of maternity leave and sending her off to day care and going back to work.
HA!
Little did I know how much a baby can change you! As soon as she was born and I laid eyes on that sweet little baby all of my plans flew out the window! No way I was going to let a stranger take care of my little baby - that was Momma's job!
It wasn't easy at all. With only a one income household (and it wasn't a lot of income!) we struggled majorly. For a while we did without all the luxuries that most people find a necessity today. No Internet, no cable, no going out to eat, Ramen Noodles and hot dogs for dinner quite often...... We did what we had to do though and if I had to do it again there would be no doubt in my mind that we would. It was completely worth it.
And I'm STILL having such a wonderful time with Brenna 8 years later! I could not even imagine not being with her as much as I am. Homeschooling has become such a lifestyle for us. No homework, no very early mornings, no rushing around at night to get in bed early, no planning our lives around school. It is so, so wonderful to be able to pick up and go do something on a Tuesday! What a fantastic life we have!!
And Brenna is doing great. We are still not doing any kind of curriculum what so ever and it is working better than I could ever imagine. I do get caught up sometimes in worrying about what other kids her age are doing but then something happens that completely eases my mind.
For example, last week in Girl Scout the girls were making friendship scrapbooks. They had blank little books that they were supposed to draw pictures of friends or write something about them. During stuff like that I can't help but pay close attention to what the other girls are doing.
One thing I really noticed was the way the other girls were asking the troop leader about things they could draw and write in their books. It was like they were almost asking permission to do certain things or that they really couldn't come up with their own ideas so they were asking the "teacher" for ideas. This really reminded me of a poem I posted on my blog quite sometime ago. Brenna, on the other hand, just went with it! She heard 'scrapbook' and 'friends' and I could tell that she had a million ideas just going through that brain of hers and she did her own thing.
Another thing that shocked me somewhat was the way that Brenna was helping her peers with spelling! It was UNBELIEVABLE that my kid, who really has had no type of "schooling" at all, was coaching some of these other girls !!! I was floored and I have to admit, it made me feel pretty darn good and really justified what we have been doing.
I wonder how many times something like that is going to have to happen before I figure out that what we are doing WORKS?! I guess as a parent though you'll always wonder if what you are doing is right.
I am extremely proud of what our daughter is becoming and I am honored to be able to witness it and experience it all first hand.
Great Quote
I've been really horrible about posting lately - my apologies. Wonder if anyone even still comes to read or if everyone has given up on me. LOL
Going to be busy today cleaning my house and doing laundry. I found a quote today that I thought would be great on my blog so I will end with that and hopefully get on here again soon......
"What sells most people on the idea of school is the fact that the unschooled child learns what it wants to learn when it wants to learn it. This is intolerable to them, because they're convinced that children don't want to learn anything at all--and they point to school children to prove it. What they fail to recognize is that the learning curve of preschool children swoops upward like a mountain--but quickly levels off when they enter school. By the third or fourth grade it's completely flat for most kids. Learning, such as it is, has become a boring, painful experience they'd love to be able to avoid if they could. But there's another reason why people abhor the idea of children learning what they want to learn when they want to learn it. They won't all learn the same things!
Some of them will never learn to analyze a poem! Some of them will never learn to parse a sentence or write a theme! Some of them will never read Julius Caesar! Some will never learn geometry! Some will never dissect a frog! Some will never learn how a bill passes Congress! Well, of course, this is too horrible to imagine. It doesn't matter that 90% of these students will never read another poem or another play by Shakespeare in their lives. It doesn't matter that 90% of them will never have occasion to parse another sentence or write another theme in their lives. It doesn't matter that 90% retain no functional knowledge of the geometry or algebra they studied. It doesn't matter that 90% never have any use for whatever knowledge they were supposed to gain from dissecting a frog. It doesn't matter that 90% graduate without having the vaguest idea how a bill passes Congress. All that matters is that they've gone through it!" -Daniel Quinn
Going to be busy today cleaning my house and doing laundry. I found a quote today that I thought would be great on my blog so I will end with that and hopefully get on here again soon......
"What sells most people on the idea of school is the fact that the unschooled child learns what it wants to learn when it wants to learn it. This is intolerable to them, because they're convinced that children don't want to learn anything at all--and they point to school children to prove it. What they fail to recognize is that the learning curve of preschool children swoops upward like a mountain--but quickly levels off when they enter school. By the third or fourth grade it's completely flat for most kids. Learning, such as it is, has become a boring, painful experience they'd love to be able to avoid if they could. But there's another reason why people abhor the idea of children learning what they want to learn when they want to learn it. They won't all learn the same things!
Some of them will never learn to analyze a poem! Some of them will never learn to parse a sentence or write a theme! Some of them will never read Julius Caesar! Some will never learn geometry! Some will never dissect a frog! Some will never learn how a bill passes Congress! Well, of course, this is too horrible to imagine. It doesn't matter that 90% of these students will never read another poem or another play by Shakespeare in their lives. It doesn't matter that 90% of them will never have occasion to parse another sentence or write another theme in their lives. It doesn't matter that 90% retain no functional knowledge of the geometry or algebra they studied. It doesn't matter that 90% never have any use for whatever knowledge they were supposed to gain from dissecting a frog. It doesn't matter that 90% graduate without having the vaguest idea how a bill passes Congress. All that matters is that they've gone through it!" -Daniel Quinn
Monday, March 08, 2010
New Friend
Well I just realized that last night was my 200th post on my blog. WOW! How cool is that? I've been looking into how much it would cost to get my blog turned into a book. This is something I would love to have in print and to be able to look back on. So many thoughts and rants and figuring things out - to me it is priceless.
Anyways, Brenna is having a sleep-over here tonight with her new best friend, Kaylie. I went to high school with her Mom and Dad and they have recently begun homeschooling Kaylie, who is 7 and John, who is 9. Great kids and such a wonderful family. I am so, so glad to have them in our lives now. We don't have a homeschooling family to hang out with and we all get along great. They'll be joining the Homeschool Group and I am hoping to be able to get together with them at least once a week. Brenna and Kaylie hit it off right from the beginning. They are so cute together! The first time they met they came up to us after hanging out for a while and with big smiles on their faces they said that they were like sisters and loved all of the same things!
We went over to their house today at 1:30 and stayed until almost 6. They've been begging for a sleep over so today we said yes and they couldn't be happier! :) They're in the livingroom right now watching Honey I Shrunk the Kids, drawing pictures for each
other.
other.Soooo Late!
Why does it have to be one in the morning? Better question - why does it have to be one in the morning and I'm still wide awake?! Brendon and Brenna have the right idea and are in bed right now, fast asleep. I've been having a bit of insomnia lately and I'm not sure why. Never really had a problem going to bed at night. This week my bedtime has shifted from midnight to about 2 am. I've always been a bit of a night-owl but this is ridiculous!
The other night I finally turned off the TV at about 1:30 and just sat there, my mind going 100 miles per hour. I just could not shut it off. It was actually very annoying. I was thinking of everything from making laundry soap to how I am going to get rid of those damn ants that have invaded my garden boxes. I hate those ants. They have caused me a lot of headache these past few days. That's all I want to do is plant my stupid seeds and they are completely in my way! It's not like I can just spray them with poison (oh and I want to soooo bad!!!) and go on my merry little way - that poison will end up getting into my nice veggies that I try so hard to grow organically. If I want pesticide ridden veggies, I'll buy them at the grocery store.
I guess I've just had so many things on my mind and on my plate recently. I've made a lot of changes in our life in very little time and I wonder sometimes if I am just overwhelming myself a tad bit too much. I was pretty good there for a while doing small changes and getting used to those before taking on anything else.
The first thing was completely changing our eating habits - that did take a while to do and I still have some room to work. THAT right there is a huge feat. I took us from a 'Hamburger Helper and hot dogs once a week family' to a family who eats fresh vegetables and fruit every day and cooking purely from scratch. You will not find boxed, frozen or processed dinners in my house at all anymore. You come to my house on any given day and we will be having green smoothies and fruit for a snack! I am really loving it though and it has made a big difference in what we all eat, Brenna especially. Like I said before, I still need to work on some things but it's a big change from what we were doing a year ago.
Next thing I did was change the way I clean my house. I do not buy nasty chemicals for cleaning anymore. I have incorporated vinegar and baking soda for pretty much everything. Ever since I read that cleaning chemicals have caused childhood cancers, they are gone. The smell of clean for me is not bleach and 409 anymore - I have learned to loooove the smell of vinegar. LOL
But there's still so much to do!!
I am obsessed with green and healthy living and to be honest, it's driving me freakin' crazy!!! No wonder I stay up till all hours of the night not being able to shut my brain off! Why do I do these things to myself??? The things I have read literally make me lose sleep at night. Most people, like Brendon, say that ignorance is bliss but I am tired of being ignorant. Especially when it comes to my family and our health. Most of this stuff that is in our everyday products are dangerous for our health and should not be used at all. I am not a sheep anymore and I definitely do not believe most of what I hear. Look up some of this stuff online and get some books from the library - you will be very surprised at what you find.
My next big project --- making laundry soap, bar soap and getting rid of all the terrible, chemical ridden beauty and personal care things we use right now.
So far I have found a really great natural tooth paste that Brenna likes (most I bought were way too spicy) that is fluoride free (btw, fluoride is terrible for you!!! and actually causes cavities!! Stop using it!) and I only use natural stuff on my face. Coconut oil is wonderful as a moisturizer and I also use a olive oil/salt mixture as an exfoliator. I am looking into shampoos and conditioners right now.
But I need to not focus on so many things at one time. What I really need to do is stop reading so much stuff!! LOL But I do love educating myself on things like this. It really is very interesting to me and I just can't get enough.
Oh! Another thing I am getting into...... natural medicine. Essential oils and herbal medicine is very intriguing to me. In fact, I have been sick with a nasty sinus infection this past week and am getting better everyday with no meds at all. I've been taking Oil of Oregano and using my NetiPot a few times a day. I could go on but I don't have enough time tonight - that will have to be a whole other post.
Okay, it's already 2 AM. I'm sure most of you reading already think I'm a complete nut - LOL - so I'm going to end it here. Believe me tho, there will be more on all this very soon!
Till fingers and keyboard meet again......
The other night I finally turned off the TV at about 1:30 and just sat there, my mind going 100 miles per hour. I just could not shut it off. It was actually very annoying. I was thinking of everything from making laundry soap to how I am going to get rid of those damn ants that have invaded my garden boxes. I hate those ants. They have caused me a lot of headache these past few days. That's all I want to do is plant my stupid seeds and they are completely in my way! It's not like I can just spray them with poison (oh and I want to soooo bad!!!) and go on my merry little way - that poison will end up getting into my nice veggies that I try so hard to grow organically. If I want pesticide ridden veggies, I'll buy them at the grocery store.
I guess I've just had so many things on my mind and on my plate recently. I've made a lot of changes in our life in very little time and I wonder sometimes if I am just overwhelming myself a tad bit too much. I was pretty good there for a while doing small changes and getting used to those before taking on anything else.
The first thing was completely changing our eating habits - that did take a while to do and I still have some room to work. THAT right there is a huge feat. I took us from a 'Hamburger Helper and hot dogs once a week family' to a family who eats fresh vegetables and fruit every day and cooking purely from scratch. You will not find boxed, frozen or processed dinners in my house at all anymore. You come to my house on any given day and we will be having green smoothies and fruit for a snack! I am really loving it though and it has made a big difference in what we all eat, Brenna especially. Like I said before, I still need to work on some things but it's a big change from what we were doing a year ago.
Next thing I did was change the way I clean my house. I do not buy nasty chemicals for cleaning anymore. I have incorporated vinegar and baking soda for pretty much everything. Ever since I read that cleaning chemicals have caused childhood cancers, they are gone. The smell of clean for me is not bleach and 409 anymore - I have learned to loooove the smell of vinegar. LOL
But there's still so much to do!!
I am obsessed with green and healthy living and to be honest, it's driving me freakin' crazy!!! No wonder I stay up till all hours of the night not being able to shut my brain off! Why do I do these things to myself??? The things I have read literally make me lose sleep at night. Most people, like Brendon, say that ignorance is bliss but I am tired of being ignorant. Especially when it comes to my family and our health. Most of this stuff that is in our everyday products are dangerous for our health and should not be used at all. I am not a sheep anymore and I definitely do not believe most of what I hear. Look up some of this stuff online and get some books from the library - you will be very surprised at what you find.
My next big project --- making laundry soap, bar soap and getting rid of all the terrible, chemical ridden beauty and personal care things we use right now.
So far I have found a really great natural tooth paste that Brenna likes (most I bought were way too spicy) that is fluoride free (btw, fluoride is terrible for you!!! and actually causes cavities!! Stop using it!) and I only use natural stuff on my face. Coconut oil is wonderful as a moisturizer and I also use a olive oil/salt mixture as an exfoliator. I am looking into shampoos and conditioners right now.
But I need to not focus on so many things at one time. What I really need to do is stop reading so much stuff!! LOL But I do love educating myself on things like this. It really is very interesting to me and I just can't get enough.
Oh! Another thing I am getting into...... natural medicine. Essential oils and herbal medicine is very intriguing to me. In fact, I have been sick with a nasty sinus infection this past week and am getting better everyday with no meds at all. I've been taking Oil of Oregano and using my NetiPot a few times a day. I could go on but I don't have enough time tonight - that will have to be a whole other post.
Okay, it's already 2 AM. I'm sure most of you reading already think I'm a complete nut - LOL - so I'm going to end it here. Believe me tho, there will be more on all this very soon!
Till fingers and keyboard meet again......
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Been Busy!
Things are going great here! We've been super busy with basketball, Girl Scouts and just life in general. My good friend Tara emailed the other morning and after I told her how busy we've been she wrote.... "You definitely have changed my view of stay at home moms and homeschoolers! So thank you for that. Not that I had any kind of negative viewpoint or anything, it's just that I didn't realize someone who wasn't rushing off to work and school could be so darn busy!! :)" LOL - I thought that was funny. Hope you don't mind me sharing that Tara..... I just really liked that. :) It might just become one of my favorite quotes! LOL
Basketball is officially over for this season. Brenna had her awards ceremony this past Saturday and her team came in 3rd place. She did so, so good this year and I am proud to say that she made her very first basket this year! Oh we were so proud of her and I think a tear might have come to my eye --- okay, so it did. :) Last year she hardly even touched the ball, so for her to actually make a basket was a HUGE deal. She wants to continue playing so we'll be signing her up again next season. She has star potential! And her height doesn't hurt either. :) In a few weeks kickball starts so that should be fun. She's never played before but apparently it's so easy that they don't even have practices! lol They will have 2 games a week and it will be in the Spring and will be so nice to take some lawn chairs and watch a game.
Girl Scouts is going great and Brenna has made so many new friends. They just ended their cookie sales and Brenna was the top seller in her troop. She sold about 300 boxes of cookies! :) It was great filling the order form up but now that the cookies have come in and we actually have to DELIVER them, it's been quite a chore.
We're also doing co-ops right now with the homeschool group. (Told you we were busy!) It's only for 6 weeks and this Friday will be the fouth week. I volunteered in the 4 and 5 year old class again - I love that age and it is so easy to come up with stuff to do. Last time I was the 'helper' so I didn't have to plan anything. This time around I am the 'teacher' so I have to come up with activities and stuff. I was a bit nervous because my helper was somebody that I didn't know very well and for those who know me, I am not about the 'sit-at-the-table-and-let-me-teach-you' crap - a lot of homeschool Mom are. I like to have fun and play and I didn't know what kind of Mom my helper was. Some classes at co-ops are very structured and even the pre-schoolers get sat at a table and they do busy-work. I love the playground and games and art stuff. The first day of co-ops my helper came up to me and asked what we were doing and I told her flat out that we were doing playground time and an art thing. She gave me a big smile and said, "Great!" and I instantly became much more comfortable. So it has been much easier since then.
Brenna, on the other hand, isn't having that great of a time. She does not like it at all this time around. After the first day she told me, "Mom, it's sooo boring! They say the same things over and over!" This is coming from a child who has had about a total of 4 hours of "school" work in her life and is not used to the classroom setting at all. LOL Last week we were a little late and I took her to the room they were in and I opened the door and walked in and all the 2nd and 3rd grade kids were sitting at the tables and the teacher was in front holding a poster board with animal habitat stuff on it, talking in a really mono tone voice, very 'school-like', and right then and there I realized how right Brenna was. How dreadful!! Talk about making animal habitats boring as hell!
Well it's late and I am ready for bed. I have so much more to say though so hopefully it won't be as long between posts. I really do need to start being better about posting. Maybe this will be the beginning a a very long spurt. :) I do miss blogging and letting all my thougts (and opinions!) out. I'm sure a lot of people have given up on my blog -- maybe I'll have to send another email out soon.
Good night all!
Basketball is officially over for this season. Brenna had her awards ceremony this past Saturday and her team came in 3rd place. She did so, so good this year and I am proud to say that she made her very first basket this year! Oh we were so proud of her and I think a tear might have come to my eye --- okay, so it did. :) Last year she hardly even touched the ball, so for her to actually make a basket was a HUGE deal. She wants to continue playing so we'll be signing her up again next season. She has star potential! And her height doesn't hurt either. :) In a few weeks kickball starts so that should be fun. She's never played before but apparently it's so easy that they don't even have practices! lol They will have 2 games a week and it will be in the Spring and will be so nice to take some lawn chairs and watch a game.
Girl Scouts is going great and Brenna has made so many new friends. They just ended their cookie sales and Brenna was the top seller in her troop. She sold about 300 boxes of cookies! :) It was great filling the order form up but now that the cookies have come in and we actually have to DELIVER them, it's been quite a chore.
We're also doing co-ops right now with the homeschool group. (Told you we were busy!) It's only for 6 weeks and this Friday will be the fouth week. I volunteered in the 4 and 5 year old class again - I love that age and it is so easy to come up with stuff to do. Last time I was the 'helper' so I didn't have to plan anything. This time around I am the 'teacher' so I have to come up with activities and stuff. I was a bit nervous because my helper was somebody that I didn't know very well and for those who know me, I am not about the 'sit-at-the-table-and-let-me-teach-you' crap - a lot of homeschool Mom are. I like to have fun and play and I didn't know what kind of Mom my helper was. Some classes at co-ops are very structured and even the pre-schoolers get sat at a table and they do busy-work. I love the playground and games and art stuff. The first day of co-ops my helper came up to me and asked what we were doing and I told her flat out that we were doing playground time and an art thing. She gave me a big smile and said, "Great!" and I instantly became much more comfortable. So it has been much easier since then.
Brenna, on the other hand, isn't having that great of a time. She does not like it at all this time around. After the first day she told me, "Mom, it's sooo boring! They say the same things over and over!" This is coming from a child who has had about a total of 4 hours of "school" work in her life and is not used to the classroom setting at all. LOL Last week we were a little late and I took her to the room they were in and I opened the door and walked in and all the 2nd and 3rd grade kids were sitting at the tables and the teacher was in front holding a poster board with animal habitat stuff on it, talking in a really mono tone voice, very 'school-like', and right then and there I realized how right Brenna was. How dreadful!! Talk about making animal habitats boring as hell!
Well it's late and I am ready for bed. I have so much more to say though so hopefully it won't be as long between posts. I really do need to start being better about posting. Maybe this will be the beginning a a very long spurt. :) I do miss blogging and letting all my thougts (and opinions!) out. I'm sure a lot of people have given up on my blog -- maybe I'll have to send another email out soon.
Good night all!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
John Holt
John Holt was an amazing man and somebody that I greatly respect as an unschooling parent. I've read about half his books and he is one of the reasons that I started looking into a more relaxed approach with Brenna. He was the "grandfather" of unschooling, as they say. I wanted to share some wonderful quotes from him that I find very powerful and inspiring....
“It is as true now as it was then that no matter what tests show, very little of what is taught in school is learned, very little of what is learned is remembered, and very little of what is remembered is used. The things we learn, remember, and use are the things we seek out or meet in the daily, serious, nonschool parts of our lives.”
“Children do not need to be made to learn to be better, told what to do or shown how. If they are given access to enough of the world, they will see clearly enough what things are truly important to themselves and to others, and they will make for themselves a better path into that world then anyone else could make for them”
“To parents I say, above all else, don’t let your home become some terrible miniature copy of the school. No lesson plans! No quizzes! No tests! No report cards! Even leaving your kids alone would be better; at least they could figure out some things on their own. Live together, as well as you can; enjoy life together, as much as you can.”
“It’s not that I feel that school is a good idea gone wrong, but a wrong idea from the word go. It’s a nutty notion that we can have a place where nothing but learning happens, cut off from the rest of life.”
“…the anxiety children feel at constantly being tested, their fear of failure, punishment, and disgrace, severely reduces their ability both to perceive and to remember, and drives them away from the material being studied into strategies for fooling teachers into thinking they know what they really don’t know."
“What children need is not new and better curricula but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use fantasy and play to make meaning out of them; and advice, road maps, guidebooks, to make it easier for them to get where they want to go (not where we think they ought to go), and to find out what they want to find out."
“True learning – learning that is permanent and useful, that leads to intelligent action and further learning — can arise only out of the experience, interest, and concerns of the learner”
“It is as true now as it was then that no matter what tests show, very little of what is taught in school is learned, very little of what is learned is remembered, and very little of what is remembered is used. The things we learn, remember, and use are the things we seek out or meet in the daily, serious, nonschool parts of our lives.”
“Children do not need to be made to learn to be better, told what to do or shown how. If they are given access to enough of the world, they will see clearly enough what things are truly important to themselves and to others, and they will make for themselves a better path into that world then anyone else could make for them”
“To parents I say, above all else, don’t let your home become some terrible miniature copy of the school. No lesson plans! No quizzes! No tests! No report cards! Even leaving your kids alone would be better; at least they could figure out some things on their own. Live together, as well as you can; enjoy life together, as much as you can.”
“It’s not that I feel that school is a good idea gone wrong, but a wrong idea from the word go. It’s a nutty notion that we can have a place where nothing but learning happens, cut off from the rest of life.”
“…the anxiety children feel at constantly being tested, their fear of failure, punishment, and disgrace, severely reduces their ability both to perceive and to remember, and drives them away from the material being studied into strategies for fooling teachers into thinking they know what they really don’t know."
“What children need is not new and better curricula but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use fantasy and play to make meaning out of them; and advice, road maps, guidebooks, to make it easier for them to get where they want to go (not where we think they ought to go), and to find out what they want to find out."
“True learning – learning that is permanent and useful, that leads to intelligent action and further learning — can arise only out of the experience, interest, and concerns of the learner”
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Very Long Over-Do Hello!
Hello. My name is Brandi and I am a Facebook addict.
LOL Yes, that is why I have not written anything on my blog in a very long while! I created a Facebook account a few months ago and it has been consuming my computer life. 90% of the time that I spend on the computer is on that stinkin' website. For those of you who have an account, you might understand where I am coming from. For those who do not, my apologies. I will try to start keeping up a little better with my blog.
Wow! So much has happened since I last posted! I don't even know where to begin.....
First I have to brag about my smart, sweet daughter. She is absolutely amazing! She blows me away everyday with things that she learns and figures out. For those who say you need forced learning and that children need to learn things at a certain age -- I say "Phooey"!! lol Yeah, blogger is totally going to get me on the spelling of THAT word! hehehe But seriously, she's one smart cookie. Not just book smart either - she can really figure things out and she is very sharp. The things that she retains is awesome too. Spelling for example.... I pretty much just have to tell her how to spell a word one time and she remembers it. Her writing is getting so much better too. That was one thing that I was concerned about for a while but it has been improving drastically. Everything that I have worried about in the past, she has proved me wrong with and I am getting so much more comfortable in letting her go at her own pace. This whole unschooling thing is a very long journey. And yes, it's a tad bit scary and unfamiliar. It's definitely not easy and takes a lot of patience and tons of trust, but it gets easier as the weeks and months (and years!) go by. Right now I am a little concerned with her learning how to tell time but I am just being patient and waiting for it to "click" (and it will - I have learned that!!). I know that it will come in time and that she doesn't need to follow MY time-line and learn it when I think she needs to learn it. When it becomes relevant to her life, it will take about 5 minutes for her comprehend it. I'm not saying that she has no clue at all about time - that's not the case at all! She knows the hours and knows that a half hour is 30 minutes, AM vs. PM, ect... but if you ask her to look at a clock when it's 4:20 and tell you what time it is, then she'll have somewhat of a hard time. But that's okay. She'll get it eventually - I have absolutely no doubt about that. Just like everything else I have ever worried about. She ALWAYS comes through and always eases my fears. I'm actually getting better at not worrying so much. It's hard though when you are so used to the "school schedule" and with kids learning things at certain ages. It is in the back of my mind but as time goes on it doesn't bother me as much. Like I said earlier, it's all about trust and I trust my daughter to learn the things that she needs to learn.
So one funny thing that I want to share about the whole homeschooling thing --- I was talking to her Girl Scout leader the other night. Brenna had a sleep over last Friday for Girl Scouts and her leader was asking me if she had a good time. Brenna raved about it and loved it and I was telling her that, yes, she had a blast. Her leader then told me that she has had a few homeschoolers in her troop before and they have always been very shy and mousy and not very outspoken, but not Brenna!! Oh no! She was extremely surprised at how out-spoken and fun she was. I just laughed and said yes, Brenna is definitely NOT the quiet type. When people ask me about the whole "socialization" thing I have to chuckle a bit (and secretly roll my eyes). It's funny how people stereotype homeschoolers. LOL
So on to other big news!! I have a new nephew!! OMG, he is sooo cute and I am such a proud Aunt! He was born on Monday (1/11/10) and is the most perfect little boy you have ever seen! Very, very cute and such a good baby. It will be interesting having a little boy in the family, especially since we've just had Brenna and Keira thus far. I will have to take pictures and post them on my blog very soon.
Well hopefully I will post again soon -- with me, you never know! LOL
Happy New Year to everyone!
LOL Yes, that is why I have not written anything on my blog in a very long while! I created a Facebook account a few months ago and it has been consuming my computer life. 90% of the time that I spend on the computer is on that stinkin' website. For those of you who have an account, you might understand where I am coming from. For those who do not, my apologies. I will try to start keeping up a little better with my blog.
Wow! So much has happened since I last posted! I don't even know where to begin.....
First I have to brag about my smart, sweet daughter. She is absolutely amazing! She blows me away everyday with things that she learns and figures out. For those who say you need forced learning and that children need to learn things at a certain age -- I say "Phooey"!! lol Yeah, blogger is totally going to get me on the spelling of THAT word! hehehe But seriously, she's one smart cookie. Not just book smart either - she can really figure things out and she is very sharp. The things that she retains is awesome too. Spelling for example.... I pretty much just have to tell her how to spell a word one time and she remembers it. Her writing is getting so much better too. That was one thing that I was concerned about for a while but it has been improving drastically. Everything that I have worried about in the past, she has proved me wrong with and I am getting so much more comfortable in letting her go at her own pace. This whole unschooling thing is a very long journey. And yes, it's a tad bit scary and unfamiliar. It's definitely not easy and takes a lot of patience and tons of trust, but it gets easier as the weeks and months (and years!) go by. Right now I am a little concerned with her learning how to tell time but I am just being patient and waiting for it to "click" (and it will - I have learned that!!). I know that it will come in time and that she doesn't need to follow MY time-line and learn it when I think she needs to learn it. When it becomes relevant to her life, it will take about 5 minutes for her comprehend it. I'm not saying that she has no clue at all about time - that's not the case at all! She knows the hours and knows that a half hour is 30 minutes, AM vs. PM, ect... but if you ask her to look at a clock when it's 4:20 and tell you what time it is, then she'll have somewhat of a hard time. But that's okay. She'll get it eventually - I have absolutely no doubt about that. Just like everything else I have ever worried about. She ALWAYS comes through and always eases my fears. I'm actually getting better at not worrying so much. It's hard though when you are so used to the "school schedule" and with kids learning things at certain ages. It is in the back of my mind but as time goes on it doesn't bother me as much. Like I said earlier, it's all about trust and I trust my daughter to learn the things that she needs to learn.
So one funny thing that I want to share about the whole homeschooling thing --- I was talking to her Girl Scout leader the other night. Brenna had a sleep over last Friday for Girl Scouts and her leader was asking me if she had a good time. Brenna raved about it and loved it and I was telling her that, yes, she had a blast. Her leader then told me that she has had a few homeschoolers in her troop before and they have always been very shy and mousy and not very outspoken, but not Brenna!! Oh no! She was extremely surprised at how out-spoken and fun she was. I just laughed and said yes, Brenna is definitely NOT the quiet type. When people ask me about the whole "socialization" thing I have to chuckle a bit (and secretly roll my eyes). It's funny how people stereotype homeschoolers. LOL
So on to other big news!! I have a new nephew!! OMG, he is sooo cute and I am such a proud Aunt! He was born on Monday (1/11/10) and is the most perfect little boy you have ever seen! Very, very cute and such a good baby. It will be interesting having a little boy in the family, especially since we've just had Brenna and Keira thus far. I will have to take pictures and post them on my blog very soon.
Well hopefully I will post again soon -- with me, you never know! LOL
Happy New Year to everyone!
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